Driverless cars arrive in New York City, finally
NEW YORK: Driverless cars have rolled into New York City, finally. But don’t expect to see them travelling down Fifth Avenue anytime soon.
The cars have been corralled behind the gates of the sprawling Brooklyn Navy Yard — away from city streets teeming with cars, bikes and pedestrians.
The cars will begin shuttling people today around a loop that is just more than one mile at the yard, a 300-acre, privately-operated manufacturing and technology hub.
They will run seven days a week to meet passengers going to and from a recently opened ferry landing. There is no charge for a ride and anyone can hop in.
Autonomous vehicles have been heralded as the next revolution in transportation, promising to move people and goods far more efficiently than cars dependent on drivers.
Advocates say the self-driving technology can be harnessed to increase the reliability and safety of taxis, Ubers and buses, as well as to make truck deliveries and to operate construction machinery.
They also say it can reduce the need for personal cars and parking spaces in congested cities.
But some of this enthusiasm waned after a woman walking a bicycle on a street in Tempe, Arizona, was fatally struck last year by a self-driving car being tested by Uber Technologies Inc.
It was the first known pedestrian death involving a self-driving vehicle, though three Tesla drivers also have died in the past several years in crashes that happened after an autopilot driverassistance system was activated.
And self-driving cars that rely on gas will still spew greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change.
Still, autonomous vehicles continue to be tested in more than a dozen communities around the country, according to Samuel I. Schwartz, a transportation consultant and author of No One at the Wheel.
“Almost all of these self-driving cars are confined to enclosed areas, though a few have operated on a limited basis on public roads,’’ he added.
“In 2017, autonomous vehicles were two years away from hitting the street,” Schwartz said. “In 2019, they are at least five years away. Just about everybody that promised autonomous vehicles by 2019 has retrenched. It’s far more complicated than they imagined.”
In New York City, autonomous vehicles are likely a long way from being allowed on public roads.
For now, they are relegated to a fleet of six electric Polaris vehicles at the Navy Yard that have been retrofitted with laser scanners, cameras and a sophisticated computer system. Just look for the shiny mini tram with the “self-driving” sign.
“I think it’s absolutely cool, but anything can happen,” said Frank Davis, a fire safety engineer who was visiting the yard and plans to take a ride though he remains concerned about the overall safety of self-driving cars. “For a shuttle, it’s fine, but on the road, no. People fail, so does technology.”
The cars at the Navy Yard are operated by Optimus Ride, a startup company founded in 2015 by five graduates and researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Since then, the company has provided more than 20,000 autonomous vehicle rides, mostly around Boston’s Seaport neighborhood, where it is based, and also in a residential community in South Weymouth, Massachusetts, a Boston suburb. The cars have supplemented local bus and train service by getting riders to stations.
Passengers on Optimus Ride vehicles are never onboard by themselves. A team of two people — a safety driver and a software operator — goes on every ride to take over the controls if needed, and to collect data to help develop a comprehensive driverless technology system.
“The company has not had any accidents or injuries involving the driverless cars,’’ said Ryan Chin, a co-founder of Optimus Ride and the chief executive.
“Most accidents are caused by human error,” he said, including people driving while texting or intoxicated, and falling asleep behind the wheel. “Those are all human characteristics we can actually programme out of the vehicle. Our computers will never get tired as long as there’s power.”